Bittersweet at Gas Works Park

 

5/2/26 Cranes are poised for destruction at Gas Works Park

Back in February when I participated in a “heart bomb” for Gas Works Park, the decision to dismantle some of the historic structures had been tabled by the city. There was still hope to find alternative solutions that would address safety concerns while retaining the structures. 

The usual park residents

Then in April the Historic Seattle organization reported that one Seattle department had ordered another city department to remove “character-defining features (catwalks, platforms, railings, ladders, pipes, etc.), or “appurtenances,” on the iconic towers by May 15. It seems a decision had been made quickly without the knowledge or involvement of landmarks preservation organizations (see the full story and context at the link above).

USk Seattle had been thinking of a different location for our May 2 outing for International Urban Sketchers Week, but we made a quick decision to meet at Gas Works Park instead. We had to sketch ASAP if we wanted to capture as much of the original structures before they were forever changed.

Knowing that it would be the last time we’d see the gas works as they had always been, it was a bittersweet outing, and USk Seattle came out in full force. The blow was somewhat softened by the amazing weather: Temps in the low 70s with sunshine and a soft breeze off Lake Union! I was among the many sketchers who sat or stood comfortably in full sun without feeling too warm. What a treat!

I stood at the top of Kite Hill for most of my sketches so that I could include the backside of the gas works, where cranes were already in place to dismantle pieces that could be climbed. While it’s tragic that several trespassers have fallen to their deaths over the years, it’s important to note that the entire area has always been surrounded by fencing with signs everywhere prohibiting entry and climbing.

It’s also a great spot to capture kite fliers, people and dogs enjoying the sunshine at the crest of the hill.

Top of Kite Hill

Because I’m feeling sentimental about my favorite city park, I’m showing below some of my many sketches of Gas Works Park from the past 11 years.

1/19/26

4/18/25

9/17/22

9/2/21

6/22/17 The piping and catwalks that cast these cool shadows will soon be gone.

7/2/16

9/9/15

5/2/26

The Ever-Versatile Neocolor (and Latest Sketch Kit Improvement)

 

Ever-versatile Caran d'Ache Neocolor II water-soluble crayons

The tiny Sendak was one of several ways I tried carrying Neocolors in the field,
but they all required an auxiliary bag.

Although Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels is a medium that I’ve dabbled in for as long as I’ve been sketching, it has only been the past year that I’ve given this Caran d’Ache product a serious workout. It started last summer when I tried carrying a supply of the crayons in the field. I tried several ways, actually, and none was ideal, so my regular use on location didn’t last long. It was enough, though, to reignite my love for Neo IIs.

In the winter, I put the Neo II crayons to work as a favorite doomscrolling prevention medium. Practicing from reference photos at home had double benefits: It encouraged me to mix the crayons with other media (which taught me which products they were friendly with), and, even more significantly, it encouraged me to try using them in the field again.

Sketching from photos helped me explore mixed media and encouraged me to try Neocolors in the field again.

The real breakthrough came when I devised a way to conveniently carry a half-dozen colors in my daily-carry bag instead of in an auxiliary bag. Then I discovered that my MacGyver’d solution had the additional benefit of serving as a painting palette!

Now that I’m using them regularly in the field, I’m appreciating the versatility of Neocolor II crayons even more. Unlike colored pencils, the chunky tips discourage fiddly details and especially encourage taking a more shape-based, painterly approach.

Using mixed media on location.

I especially enjoy using them in combination with both watercolor pencils and non-soluble pencils. Putting the crayon ends face up inside my bag enables me to use my “licking” method easily, and that encourages me to use them more like watercolor paints when I want to.

My life seemed perfect – except for one thing: I wanted more than the six colors that my MacGyver setup would allow. I needed something like that tiny coin purse, but larger.

Necessity is the mother of invention, or in my case, of late-night shopping. I knew Etsy was a good source of handmade things not available in stores or on Amazon. Indeed, I found a variety of simple, inexpensive fabric rolls sized for kids’ crayons, and one of them was exactly the dimensions I needed. It fits 10 Neocolor crayons perfectly. (Yes, it would have been easy to sew myself – if I still had a sewing machine and fabric scraps. But I prefer to support an entrepreneur. And don’t forget I’m lazy.)

This adorable roll, made by an Etsy merchant, is intended for kids' crayons. (It came with an elastic band to hold the roll closed, but I cut it off.)

I sewed the crayon case to the back of the Rickshaw pen case, which removes the bulk of the crayons from the main compartment. It has been working perfectly! (This post shows all the media in my daily-carry.)

The crayon roll is sewn to the back of my Rickshaw pen case.

But what about the tiny coin purse I had sewn inside – my original MacGyver solution? Initially, I was going to remove it. Then a thought occurred to me: My colored pencils eventually get to the point where they are not yet short enough to attach to an extender/holder, but they are short enough to disappear from view in the pencil case. The coin purse gives them the boost they need to stay visible for a while longer. (I avoid using extenders as long as possible because they add weight and bulk.)

The circled pink Inktense and gray Museum Aquarelle pencils are much shorter than they look. The tiny red coin purse sewn inside the pen case gives them a boost, which keeps them from disappearing from sight.

Isn’t it wonderful when my life is perfect! Well, at least my sketch kit (which, as we all know, is the most important part of life).

Ahhh.... my perfect life.

Two Tree Studies

 

4/27/26 Maple Leaf neighborhood through an upstairs window

I’ve been wanting to practice sketching multiple layers of trees and foliage with varying textures and hues. It’s the type of scene I love, but it can be overwhelming to sketch on location. Initially I was going to head out to a park to look for the right scene, but I found exactly what I was looking for through an upstairs window (top of post). Although I’m sure I sketched it at some point during the pandemic when I sketched out of every window in the house many times, this scene doesn’t have an interesting composition. It perfectly served my purpose, however, as a study. I used a limited palette of five Caran d’Ache Neocolor II crayons (plus one Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelle pencil for the sky).

Another thing I’ve been wanting to practice is dogwood trees. In past attempts, I felt I had failed to capture the airy transparency of dogwood blossoms. Unlike cherry trees, which transform into thick cottony clouds of pale pink, dogwood branches are sparsely covered, even at their peak. A photo of a dogwood I had snapped recently (I showed it a few days ago) made a good study for the sketch below.

4/27/26 photo reference

It also gave me an opportunity to practice a strategy I had talked about a while back but keep forgetting to use on location: Mixing water-soluble and non-soluble materials to the best advantage of each. I wanted the background house to be visible through the transparency of the blossoms without being cluttered with detail that detracted from the tree. I first tried using an Olive Earth Derwent Drawing pencil to draw the house, but it was too pale, so I switched to Ivory Black. Then I used five colors of Neocolor II crayons for the blossoms and foliage. I spritzed the page lightly with water. Finally, I used the black Drawing pencil to draw the branches and continue darkening the house behind the blossoms.

This exercise was, for me, the ideal use of a reference photo: To practice the kinds of techniques I want to use on a specific subject on location (which I hope to do soon).

A strategic mix of media

Long-Awaited Forest Trailhead Exhibit Opens

 

4/29/26 A tree kangaroo and a kea in the Forest Trailhead exhibit

Members got a preview this week of Woodland Park Zoo’s long-anticipated Forest Trailhead exhibit. The spacious, well-designed environment is a much-improved home for Carson, the red panda (a zoo ambassador for his endangered brethren), tree kangaroos and a kea. In an equally spacious indoor area, nearly 20 species of fish, reptiles and amphibians live in tanks.

On the day I visited, I focused on the outdoor exhibit (I’ll get to the indoor part some rainy day), where I was happy to see and sketch all three of the furry and feathered residents. (I was so eager to sketch that I forgot to take photos! I’ll certainly do that on return visits.)

Carson, the red panda, a popular zoo ambassador

As I took a walk through the rest of the zoo, I came upon Skyanna, a North American porcupine, who is a much more active ambassador. Out of her exhibit and on the main thoroughfare with human companions, Skyanna was as tame and friendly as a house a cat! We all awww’d as she munched on treats and tore up a toilet paper tube for fun.

Skyanna, a North American porcupine

This is the time of year when I get my money’s worth from my zoo membership. I’ll be back soon!

Skyanna munching on a treat

In response to a question, Skyanna's human friend explains that porcupines don't need to run fast because they wear very sharp armor!

When I arrived at opening time, the stroller set filled a long line. I sketchwaited a few minutes so that I could just walk in without standing in line.

Party for the Dayton Cedars

4/26/26 Greenwood neighborhood

 Back in October, I reported on the four “Dayton cedars,” as they are called by locals, that were slated for destruction by a developer. After more than 250 concerned and outraged citizens wrote to the developer, the plans were changed to save two of the four centenarian trees.

Last Sunday I attended a gathering around the western red cedars and the corner house behind them (which will be torn down for the multi-unit development). Although bubbly beverages and refreshments made the gathering feel like a celebration, participants were well aware of the irony: It was also a farewell to the two trees that will be cut down. Still, they conceded, losing half the trees was better than all four. Strands of tiny origami cranes decorated the two doomed trees.

Chris Collins has lived next door to the corner house for decades. At the event, he talked about how that house’s late owners, the Dyment family, had transplanted the trees from Snoqualmie Pass more than a century ago. Chris had been a major activist in trying to save the trees. He expressed appreciation to Tree Action Seattle and all the neighbors and other concerned citizens who had written to the developer. Given how ineffectual Seattle city laws are in protecting old growth trees, it’s up to citizens putting pressure on developers to save them.

The two trees on the left will be taken out along with the small house on the corner. Note all the shade that will be lost, as well as all the other natural benefits mature trees provide.

Origami Workshop

 

4/25/26 Fresh Mochi Gallery

Fresh Mochi Gallery on Beacon Hill looks unassuming. Located on a quiet, residential street, it would be easy to miss. Inside, however, a remarkable project is taking place.

Last Saturday I joined several other women in a free workshop to learn how to fold an origami vulva (yes, you read that right). Our contributions from the workshop will eventually become part of a head-exploding installation by artist Hanako O’Leary.

In a variety of media, primarily ceramics, O’Leary’s latest body of work focuses on the image of the vulva. (Some pieces are currently on exhibit at Fresh Mochi.) The origami is part of “Kamon,” which is about women’s freedom, mythology, “the strength to live in one’s own body,” and much more. This part of “Kamon” requires thousands and thousands of origami pieces that are being stitched together into a delicate, suspended, quilt-like installation. Three more segments are still in the design and conceptualization stage. 

During the two-hour workshop, I completed only two vulvas! It’s a complex structure that was more intense to learn than I anticipated. Although O’Leary has a small team helping her to make and assemble the installation, she holds regular workshops to involve the community. I am honored and humbled to participate in her work, even in this tiny way.

This was my practice piece made of commercial origami paper. O'Leary placed
 a small patch of gold leaf in the center when it was completed.
 She let contributors keep the practice pieces.

The final piece that will be included in the installation is made of a fabric-like paper hand-dyed by the artist. She placed gold leaf in the center after I took this photo. O'Leary asked each participant to write the birth name and place of their mothers on the back, honoring the heritage of our birth mothers.

The Last Kwanzan

 

On my walk to Green Lake, I saw the pavement covered with pink snowfall wherever I had enjoyed blossoms in the previous weeks. Wistfully, I looked for one last Kwanzan cherry to sketch at the park. Although this one had started to shed petals, it still had a full crown of pink. The temperature was only in the high 50s by late morning, so it wasn’t exactly warm. Avoiding the shade, a young woman sat in full sun, sewing (repairing?) a jacket – a refreshing change from the usual phone-gazers.

What a terrific season of pink we’ve had! And as the last of the Kwanzans leave the party, just arriving are the dogwoods and redbuds.

Dogwood

Redbud

Dogwood